Nourish

Maggie Beer’s Christmas Pudding

CHRISTMAS PUDDING WITH CUMQUAT BRANDY BUTTER

Our family never manages to eat the Christmas pudding on Christmas Day. What tends to happen is that it‚Äôs covered well and put back into the fridge.¬† In the evenings that follow, it is taken out¬† a slice at a time and warmed a little, to enjoy with a cup of tea after dinner.

Traditionally, Christmas pudding is made in advance to allow time for it to mature ‚Äď I make ours in October.

¬†The pudding will keep for a long time, as will the brandy butter ‚Äď that is, if you don‚Äôt eat it by the spoonful when you pass the fridge like I do, butter Ô¨Āend¬† that I am. It would be much better for me if I didn‚Äôt¬† make¬† the¬† brandy butter at all, but then it wouldn‚Äôt be Christmas!

1 ¬† Combine the cumquats, currants, raisins, sultanas and brandy in a large non-reactive bowl¬† and¬† mix¬† thoroughly. Cover¬†with plastic¬†Ô¨Ālm¬†and¬†leave at room¬†temperature for

24 hours, stirring several¬† times.

2¬† Sift the¬† Ô¨āour,¬†cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger,¬†mace and 1 teaspoon salt into¬†a large bowl, then coarsely grate in the butter. Stir in the breadcrumbs and add the lemon¬† zest, apple, almonds and¬†fruit mixture. Whisk the¬†eggs until light¬†and¬†frothy and¬†stir¬†through the pudding mixture until well combined.

3¬† For one¬†large¬†pudding, dust¬†a 60cm square¬†of calico¬†with a little¬†extra¬† Ô¨āour,¬†then spoon¬†the¬†pudding mixture into¬†the¬†middle. Gather up¬†the¬†cloth¬†and¬† tie¬†it¬†securely with kitchen string at¬†the¬†top¬†to¬†enclose¬†the¬†pudding. Steam¬†the¬†pudding in¬†a large double¬†steamer over boiling¬†water or boil in a large saucepan for 6 hours, replenishing the water every 30 minutes or as necessary. (To make¬†two¬†puddings, divide¬†the mixture in half and wrap¬†each in a 40cm square¬†of dusted calico, then steam¬†or boil as above in separate pans¬† for 4 hours.)

4¬† Suspend the boiled pudding in a cool, airy place to mature before serving. (Christmas puddings certainly mature with standing, but¬†the¬†main¬†issues¬†are¬†having the¬†right

Extract from Maggie‚Äôs Christmas by Maggie Beer, photography by Earl Carter, published by Lantern on 23 September 2015, RRP $39.99

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About Emma Heron

If I wasn‚Äôt a writer, I‚Äôd be dancing at the Moulin Rouge. They‚Äôd put me in the back, but I‚Äôd be giving it a real crack. I pretend to understand wine lists, but really I might as well just close my eyes and point. I don‚Äôt see this as a problem, because I‚Äôm a first-time Mum so really any wine will do.¬† I liked my cat until I realised he was more demanding than an actual child.